Bill Fay: Still Some Light Part 1 review – Impeccable songs rescued from darkness

If there is a collection of songs that is deserving of reissue, on double-LP and digitally (for the first time), it is Bill Fay’s Still Some Light. The English songwriter released two impeccable albums in the early 1970s before being dropped from his label and going dark. His records grew in cult status in the 1990s – back when “rare” recordings were genuinely difficult to find – with Time of the Last Persecution (recorded in 1971) propelling rumours that the notoriously private musician had gone off to lead some religious group, or disappeared entirely.

Still Some Light is now, at last, available for the first time digitally and on vinyl. Those who have heard Time of the Last Persecution will recognise some sketches that would go on to become fully realised tracks on that album; Plan D is a crackly demo, echoes from the studio audible in Fay’s warm vocal delivery, a bright, gracious guitar line circling above; Dust Filled Room is similarly stunning in its raw state, Fay’s vocals close, almost blowing out the 1970s recording equipment.

What stands out here, even in these early recordings, is the arrangement of piano and guitar – Ray Russell’s playing on the latter is a force of nature, pulling back and letting go at just the right moments. These early sessions are imbued with vitality. The band is a conduit for Fay’s impeccable songs that, even in their early state, are something to behold.